


Comfort in Exchange for the Promise Land

by chezetcake



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Dead TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Hurt Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Hurt Toby Smith | Tubbo, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Mental Breakdown, Platonic Relationships, Ranboo comforts Tubbo, Steve the Polar Bear comfort, Techno makes potatos, Technoblade goes through stages of grief, a golden apple sacrifice, haha - Freeform, if that wasn't obvious, platonic husbands, poor ranboo has to be the support, ranboo ain't main character he's the support character, ranboos tears are canon :], these boys need help please, tubbos reaction to tommy's death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-17 08:48:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29839014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chezetcake/pseuds/chezetcake
Summary: Tubbo didn't believe it when people say that Tommy was dead. how could he? he already went through this during Tommy's exile. but as he walks through the eerily silent SMP he relies the truth of the situation. hes friend is dead and there was nothing he could of done to prevent it.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s), Ranboo & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Technoblade & Ranboo, Technoblade & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit
Comments: 4
Kudos: 39





	1. Symbolic Nature

**Author's Note:**

> This story is set after the day of Tommys death in the SMP. Obviously Tubbo's reaction wasn't canon but like everyone else I took inspiration from it. denial is such a sweet thing is it not?
> 
> I also wrote this is like two days and isn't really edited so I apologise in advance for any errors and grammatical mistakes, I also suck as spelling and all that jazz. 
> 
> Also I would really appreciate any criticism you have for me, due to the fact this is my first piece of writing I'm posting publicly!
> 
> enjoy guys! :]

He’s not gone. He’s just not. It’s as simple as that.

Tommy can’t die, he knows this, Dream knows this, everyone knows this. 

Then why is everyone telling him that he’s gone? Why do they look at him with teary eyes and act like he’s breaking? Ranboo says he’s in denial. Denial for what? because tomorrow he knows that as he walks down the prime path, past tommy’s dirt home to their bench, he will find Tommy. Find Tommy alive and smiling. Tommy listening to the disks he and Tubbo fought so hard for. Tommy with his loud and boisterous laugh. Tommy, Tubbo’s best friend. 

Except reality works in cruel ways. The prime path is littered with blood vines, staining the oak wood a crimson red. There isn’t a single sound to be heard except for Tubbo’s footsteps as he walks warily down the path. He passes Tommy’s shack, the front being decorated with Poppies, Forget Me Nots and Lily of the Valley. Tubbo stops and stares, everyone knows that Tommy isn’t the type to decorate, especially not with flowers. He walks slowly towards the entranced. Red and white. Tommy’s colours. Tubbo blinks back tears, surprising himself. He rubs at his eyes aggressively making his eyes swell. He doesn’t care. People are making a fool at of him now. Why couldn’t they leave it alone? Tommy’s not dead, not like this, not so soon. 

Tubbo lifts his face to the sky as more tears flow down his face. His chest hurts from suppressed sobs, making it hard for him to swallow. Tubbo looks back down to the flowers, hiccups breaking their way out and tears falling on the dirt and grass beneath him. Slowly Tubbo turns his head to the direction of the bench. With an empty bench and the setting sun, it creates a beautiful portrait, however Tubbo doesn’t care for that stuff as he falls to his knees. Tommy isn’t anywhere to be found, it’s been a day and Tubbo hasn’t caught a glimpse of his friend. Logically he knows he should wait a couple more days, but the words of everyone else has deteriorated his hope. 

If this was a prank tommy would be leaning against the bench and laughing his head off. If Tommy was alive the act would have been up the minute Tubbo was told, because he knows Tommy would never be able to hide his laughter. Just because he’s an infamous prankster on the server, doesn’t mean he’s a good one. 

Overcome with sobs, Tubbo grips into the grass trying desperately to hold onto reality.   
“He wasn’t supposed to die,” the words leave his lips in-between sharp sobs, “I was supposed to die!” it feels good to scream, he thinks. It leaves his throat hoarse but there’s a form of relief behind it. His fingers dig into the grass, digging up the soil. He’s still wearing his winter clothing, despite it being far too warm for that in SMP, but he doesn’t care. Not about that kind of stuff and he doesn’t think he ever will.   
“Why’d you have to get yourself killed?” the last word falls to the ground as Tubbo stares at the flowers, the only resemblance of Tommy he has. “I didn- I didn’t even know you were in the prison!” the words continue to crake and break upon leaving his lips, the more he thinks about it the harder it gets to get a clear breath in. 

“I didn’t even get to say goodbye.” The words are carried by the night breeze and floats to nearby ears. Long fingers grab Tubbo under his arms and pulls him on unsteady legs. Too caught up in grief, Tubbo doesn’t pull back from the tight embrace he is pulled into. He repeats the sentence over and over again, more broken then the last, until he’s screaming it into the persons chest. The hands that pulled him up, moved to stroke his hair, in a failed attempt to calm him down. He knows that they are trying to talk to him, maybe give him meaning less reassurance, but he can’t find the strength to listen. All he can think about is his friend, his lifelong friend dying by the hand of the man who’s ruined their lives. Permanently for one of them. 

“Let it out Tubbo, let it all out.” He wasn’t expecting to hear those words, it was the last thing he’d think someone would tell him. He’s still sobbing when he lessens the tight on the embrace and looks up into Ranboo’s bi-coloured eyes. He has fresh tear wounds, evidence of his own grief. He smiles lightly at Tubbo and his hands push the hair from his face. “You don’t have to hold it in anymore, you don’t have to keep it secret.” Tubbo buries his face into Ranboo’s chest, he’s not wearing armour and if Tubbo was in a better headspace he would worry about hurting him. But Tubbo is being crushed from the inside out, his emotions going on a spiral he can’t control. Ranboo doesn’t pull back, instead wraps his arms lightly around Tubbo’s back. 

Tubbo’s very aware on how long they comfort each other, his feet are numb and he’s glad he still wore his Snowchester clothing, as if not he would be shaking. He’s calmed down enough to notice that Ranboo is shaking instead, so he pulls back and looks at him. His eyes have a concerning amount of dried blood; his mouth is gripped tight trying to restrain his teeth from chattering and his white polo shirt has tear and snot stains. Tubbo grimaces at the sight, pulls himself out complete from the embrace and rubs at his damp eyes. He wants to apologise for ruining Ranboo’s good shirt or to offer him something that could stop the shaking. But after all that Tubbo is numb. So, he looks away from Ranboo and motions for him to follow him back to Snowchester. It’s a voiceless invitation but Ranboo understands the meaning, he always does.

He’s tired to the bone and wants nothing more than to sleep the grief away. He never likes being alone, especially not when there is a deep, dark void expanding inside his heart. So, having Ranboo a steady present beside him calms him a bit. He won’t think about how familiar that presence is, he won’t allow himself to be pulled back in, not tonight anyway.


	2. The Time for Sleep is Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ranboo has to tell Techno some terrible news.  
> Techno Doesn't believe him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took an awful long time to write and its a lot longer than the pervious chapter and I'm not hundred percent sure I like it...  
> I didn't except Techno to be a hard character to write (that's a lie I did but anyway)  
> Also i didn't really know how best to go about chat so I went back to the stream where Ranboo tells the syndicate that Tommy's  
> dead and just wrote down what chat was saying and added some new ones that i though best fitted the scene.

The bite of the wind carries through the house, despite the thick cabin walls. The winds are always harsher in the middle of the tundra, he supposes he should have expected that. And as winter draws to an end, the wind seems to have only gotten stronger. 

He pushes his empty teacup away and walks to the windowsill with a book in hand. Phil should be back soon, and he needs the older man’s help to manage the broken bee farm. But by the looks of it, the surrounding area is currently under a heavy blizzard. Great. Just what he needed. 

POG POG POG  
ONE OF US ONE OF US  
LATE TECHNOLATE  
PHIL IS GONE CRABRAVE

With a heavy sigh Techno walks to his bookshelf to find a recipe book, with Phil out the picture he supposes he should start dinner… himself. This wasn’t going to end very well. Ever since Phil stated living with him, he never had to worry about cooking, and when he did… well he’d rather eat spiders’ eyes. 

Techno had just put the potatoes in the furnace to cook when a loud knock rang through the house, louder enough to be heard over the wind. Techno regards the door for a second before he walks cautiously towards it, surely Phil wasn’t that stupid to venture in this bloody storm. No Phil had more common sense than Techno. He Supposes Ghostbur could be looking for shelter, but he hasn’t seen the ghost in weeks. Techno was still checking off possibilities when opened his door, and mentally faced palm himself. 

Ranboo was leaning against the wall of the Cabin with his head to the sky, Techno didn’t even think of him as possibilities, he completely forgot that the hybrid lived right next door. He notices the hybrid shivering heavily, which isn’t surprising due to his attire, he’s missing his usual blazer and the thin business shirt and pants wouldn’t have much insulation. But Techno notices the expression on the young boy’s face, his eyes are fluttering as if to try and push back tears and his mouth is moving in quite mumble. Techno knows the voice are applying useless information to him, but due to the concerning state of Ranboo and the roaring wind the voices are left voiceless. 

“Ranboo.” The enderman hybrids attention snaps to the other hybrid, panic clear on his face, Techno frowns slightly, he didn’t mean to scare the boy.  
“Ranboo, what are you doing here?” he knows the delivery was harsh, judging by the slight wince Ranboo pulls. But Techno knows Ranboo has a fully protective house now, and not a cringy shack that was a bit of an eye sore. Phil mentioned it to him, and he’s seen it himself when he went about his chores. So really the question is that of a genuine one. However, Ranboo’s body language screams that of discomfort, from his fiddly hands, his slightly hunched posture – really the boy is incredibly tall, if Techno was that height, he would use it to his advantage – to his feet moving every so often. Techno assumes the discomfort is from the cold, so he sighs a heavy sigh and moves slightly out of the doorway.  
“Get in Ranboo.” 

The teen wastes no time and practically scurries inside, rubbing his hands along his arms to warm himself up. Techno hands him his arctic cloak that was hanging by the fire. The cloak looks big on the lanky teens body, but the length certainly is too short for him. Techno smiled slightly at the picture, him and his weird body proportions. 

With Ranboo warming up, Techno sees that his discomfort is still present. Ranboo refuses to look him in the eye and instead is staring at Steve, the polar bear in question pays no mind to the attention and continues to sleep by the warmth of the fireplace. The tense silence causes Techno to draw uncomfortable himself, he tries to think of something that could have upset the boy, something Techno might have done unintentionally but comes up short. 

In hopes to lighten the situation and make the enderman hybrid more comfortable Techno walks towards the furnace and starts preparing a second dinner, he looks over his shoulder to see Ranboo watching him season the baked potatoes. His eyes are looking more alive, but Techno can see opened wounds under his eyes, Strange he thinks. 

CRY CANON TEAR WOUNDS  
EEEEEEEEEE  
HEAL HIM HEAL HIM HEAL HIM  
FUNKY LOOKING ENDERMAN BOI  
SADBOO SADBOO SADBOO  
EEE

The voice chants a mixture of obscure sentences, not unnormal but always unhelpful. The scroll is directed to the voices but Ranboo possibly assumed it was directed to him, judging by the way he looks away quickly. Oh, right Techno was still looking at him. Way to make this more awkward. He turns fully towards the boy and silently hands him the potato; he looks up at the gesture and blinks unintelligently.  
“Take the food Ranboo.” He pushes the plate at the boy who grabs it and hold it awkwardly.  
“Are you not hungry? Because if not I’ll take it back and Steve can eat it,” he goes to take the plate back but Ranboo pulls it away from him.

“No! no Techno it’s fine, I just- thank you.” Ranboo’s voice was rough, almost like he’s been crying, and he seems to want to say something more but choses against it. He walks cautiously towards the couch that faces the fire and sits stiffly on it. 

“Yeah, um no problem.” He grabs his own plate and sits at his armchair. Ranboo doesn’t start eating, he just picks at his food, the look on the face suggests he might be having a mental conflict. Since the boy was outside his door there have been telling signs that something is wrong, but Techno can’t find a way to bring it up. So instead, he east his potato slowly, dragging it out enough to draw the tension of the situation to allows Ranboo to bring it up himself. A+ for avoiding awkward exchange Technoblade, Phil would be proud.

And just as he predicted after an agonising two minutes Ranboo finally looks up from his plate to stare into the fire and starts talking.

“I need to tell you something Techno, and I don’t really know how, because I don’t know your opinions on this individual but- “He pauses to take a big shaky breath. “I really don’t want to be the one to tell you.” Techno stays quiet, he doesn’t want to risk speaking and scaring the boy anymore. So, he lets Ranboo regain his composure as he whispers lightly to himself.

“Tommy’s dead, Techno.” Ranboo’s looking at him now, the first time this whole afternoon. Techno could see the visible pain and sadness in his expression, if he was paying attention to that, but instead he’s paying attention to the two simple words. The two worlds that bounce around in his head. The two words the voice is repeating over and over again. 

“What?” the question was quite but Ranboo heard him, and he starts speaking again.

“Tommy, Tommy’s dead, he-he was in the prison, with dream. And he killed him. Dream killed Tommy Techno. When he was defenceless and valuable.” As Ranboo continued the anger grew, he faces shifted from sorrow to anger. Techno couldn’t believe it.

“Did you see the body?”

“Wha- what are you talking about?”

“The body Ranboo, did you see his body?” his voice hold no emotion and he stare hard at the boy. He doesn’t know what he’s trying to prove, but from years of wars and battles, if there were no bodies then there was no need to mourn. 

“No I didn’t, but Sam told me-“

“Then he’s not dead.” Techno feels light as he stands up with his half-eaten potato and walks over to Ranboo. “Are you finished?” he points to Ranboos picked potato and doesn’t meet his eyes. He can see the shocked expression from his peripheral vision as Ranboo tries to make sense of the situation.

“Um- um yeah, I am. But Techn-“ 

“Good, you can sleep in Phil’s house tonight. I don’t see it necessary for you to go out there in the blizzard.” He walks to the sink in the corner of the room and empties the potatoes in the bin. He hears Ranboo slowly get up from his seat and walk towards the door.  
“There’s some healing potions in the chests. I gather you know how to use them?” he continues to wash the dishes as he waits for Ranboo’s response.

“Oh, yeah tha-thank you.” Techno hears the chest open and the sound of rustling as he searches for the potions. The chest closes and Ranboo continues to walk to the door.  
“Umm, Goodnight Techno. Sleep well” the reply he gives is just a light hum, he keeps his back turned to Ranboo as he opens the door and leaves the house. When he hears the door of Phil’s house close, Techno releases a shaky breath.

“That stupid child.”  
TOMMYS DEAD CRABRAVE  
TECHNOHURT??? TECHNOHURT  
BYE RANBOO  
CRABRAVE TOMMYS GONE  
TOMMY DIED 

“Yeah, yeah I know.” Techno grips the sink tightly as he tries to breathe normally. He huffs a laugh in disbelief as he stands up straight and tries to compose himself, he’s to rest, that’s all. He starts to walk towards the couch but suddenly his knees make contact with the hardwood floor. His breathing increases as he stares hard at the floor, tears staining the wood. He bubbles a laugh as he wipes the tears away.  
“He ruined your life, why are you crying? He was nothing but a nuisance, so why are you crying?” his chest feels tight, and the tears continue to flow. 

It takes minutes before Techno is able to breath probably, the tears stopped a minute or two ago, but he couldn’t manage to control his breathing pattern. At some point Steve moved to where Techno was kneeling, close enough for Techno to run his hands over his soft white fur. He rises with Steve supporting him and mutters a quite thank you as he continues to walk to the sofa. 

It all feels so surreal. As much as Techno sprouted that Tommy was Theseus, he never expected the boy to die by the hands of the king. As much as he wants to try and persuade himself that he never cared for Tommy, the big aching pain in his heart is a dead give-away.  
Despite the fireplace producing heat, Techno feels cold. He’s shaking slightly as he runs his hands down his face, he never cries. He didn’t cry for Wilbur so why is he for Tommy? 

He stands from the couch and walks towards the chests and opens up to see what possessions he is missing. Ever since Tommy he can’t seem to trust anyone with taking what he says, except Phil. Another reason for why Techno shouldn’t feel empty. He’s only missing on healing potion. Ranboo always keeps his word. Before Techno closes the chest a flash of gold catches his eye. He picks up the round golden fruit and looks at it. Why does this measly fruit cause the pain in his heart to increase? Why does this fruit bring up memories of a raccoon boy living in his basement? Why does it remind him of a stressful but peaceful period of his life? 

Even in death Tommy continues to annoy Techno.  
“That stupid child.” He huffs a laugh as he opens another chest and picks up an item frame. He pockets both the golden apple and item frame and climbs down the ladder first reaching his chest room and finally landing in his basement. Bob gives him a soft welcome moo and Techno greets him back by rubbing his soft back. He walks to the other side of the basement and places the item frame and pulls out the golden apple and contemplates the meaning of this action. He ignores any negative conclusion he gets and places the apple in the item frame, because at the end of the day Techno does need closure. And if that means making a small but sentimental memorial for Tommy than that’s what he will do. 

Techno doesn’t sleep peacefully that night; he doesn’t sleep at all actually. But his heart feels lighter, and his brain feels clearer. And if Ranboo was confused by the golden apple in his basement he doesn’t comment on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading and your opinions and criticism are always welcome!  
> I think I have one chapter left and that's from Ranboos POV!!  
> I'm playing on being a bit more active hopefully and start making more stories in the future.  
> I have an idea for an AU I just need to plan it out.

**Author's Note:**

> I think I might add onto this, like make it into a series or make more chapters expanding from this story. I'm not quit sure though. I also might make my own au's from the SMP. these characters are so much fun to write.   
> but then again I don't know how regularly I will publish, due to school being an over bearing thing in my life along with the possible writers block. this


End file.
